


Snow Day

by StarSurfer69



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, No one's traumatized, Set before in-game events
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:15:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29220846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarSurfer69/pseuds/StarSurfer69
Summary: Nothing beats a day of fun in the snow with all of your friends.A story from when the gang still had six members.
Relationships: Hero/Mari (OMORI)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 155





	1. Wake up

**Author's Note:**

> This game made me feel many things, including lots of pain. I made this to cope with that. Enjoy.

“Sunny, wake up! It’s snowing!”

Sunny’s eyes slowly opened, greeted with the sight of his older sister Mari sitting on the edge of his bed, gently shaking him awake. He watched as she got up from his bed to go to the window and threw open the curtains, letting in way too much light for someone who just woke up to handle. Sunny squeezed his eyes shut, nestling back into the warmth of his bed. 

“Oh, come on, little brother! It’s the weekend, so you don’t have to worry about school getting canceled.” Mari giggled. She tried to pull the blanket off of him, but Sunny held on as tight as he could. “I’m sure Kel, Aubrey and Basil will want to play out in the snow. Don’t you want to play with them too?”

The two were still engaged in their tug-of-war over the blanket, but Sunny could feel his grip loosening. When it slipped from his hands, the cold air finally hit him. He shivered, and curled up in an attempt to retain some warmth.

Mari laughed at the sight. Sunny knew trying to sleep would be impossible with her bothering him. Besides, playing in the snow with their friends sounded like fun.

Sunny swung his legs off the bed and hopped onto the cold wooden floor. Mari went to dig through her wardrobe for her winter coat. She seemed to be completely unbothered by the cold. She glanced over at Sunny, and smiled at him when she caught his eyes.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” Mari pulled out her purple coat and put it on. “You need to get dressed and have breakfast before you go out. I’ll head over to Hero and Kel’s place, come find us when you’re ready,” she said, not waiting for a response. She twirled out of the room and sped down the stairs. She was usually happy, but today Mari was in an exceptionally good mood. Sunny couldn’t help but smile when he saw her like that.

Sunny peeked out the window and quickly realized how much of a mistake that was, squeezing his eyes shut once more. He had gotten used to the indirect light from the window, but looking straight at the intense white light that was reflecting off the snow was not good for his eyes. The ground was so covered in snow he couldn’t even see the grass. And from what little he could see through his squinting eyes, he saw that it was still snowing. Sunny couldn’t help but get excited. He hated the cold, but loved playing in snow. 

Sunny wasted no time getting dressed into warm clothes and heading downstairs. He was almost at the door before he heard his mom call him from the dining room.

“Sunny, I made some eggs, eat before you go outside. You’ll need energy if you want to play all day.” She appeared in the doorway, holding a plate of scrambled eggs. 

Sunny sighed, but quickly followed her into the room. He wolfed down his eggs as fast as possible, excusing himself when he finished. He heard his mom say something about not eating too fast or you’ll choke, but he was only half listening. Not wanting to waste any more time, he ran to the front door and threw it open.

He nearly fell over from shock, blinded by the light for the third time in as many minutes. He had forgotten how bright it was again. _This is getting annoying,_ he thought. Well, he knew he just needed time to adjust.

He took his first step out into the fresh snow. It wasn’t so fresh though, since there was a trail of footprints leading to the neighbor’s yard. His foot sunk into the snow up to just below his knee. It was pretty deep already, at least for him. Sunny closed the door behind him, and carefully placed one foot in one of Mari’s footprints, then the other foot in another. He kept hopping from one hole to the next, following the footprints all the way to Hero and Kel’s house.

Once he got close enough, he could see Mari and Hero talking to each other. Mari was going on about something, looking excited about whatever she was talking about. Hero was leaning on a shovel, staring at her with a dumb smile on his face. From the looks of things, he had been shoveling the driveway all morning. There was still some more snow to shovel, and it was still snowing, but he looked pretty tired already. Sunny stopped for a moment, noticing the distinct lack of a certain loud boy. He looked around, but he couldn’t see Kel anywhere. He wondered if he was still inside getting ready.

Hero calling out to him snapped Sunny back to reality. He was waving at him. Mari was holding her hand up to her mouth and giggling at him, still standing in the holes she made earlier. Sunny remembered how she always told him how cute it was when he did that. _You’re like a little bunny,_ she would say. He mustered his best glare towards his sister, who just laughed more, and quickly hopped towards the two. 

“Hey Sunny!” Hero said once Sunny got close enough. “Kel is on his way to get Aubrey and Basil. We’re all going to meet up at the park once I’m done with all this.” He gestured to the snow still on the driveway. “You might be able to catch up to him if you run.” Sunny noticed another track of footprints leading further down the sidewalk. They must be Kel’s.

“Or,” Hero grinned, “...you can help me finish shoveling the driveway.”

Sunny had turned around and was back to hopping into footprint holes before he had the chance to finish his sentence. Hero laughed, dejected but not surprised, and Sunny heard Mari say “Tough luck,” as their voices faded into the distance.


	2. Meeting

Sunny was getting tired of hopping. It was a long way to the park, and even longer to his friends’ houses. He wished he were taller so he wouldn’t have to lift his legs so high just to be able to walk. 

He eventually came across an intersection, and the footprints turned left at around where Kel probably thought was the crosswalk buried under all the snow. Sunny could tell he was a few feet off. No one would be driving in this weather anyway, so it didn’t really matter. 

Sunny was about to follow the footprints across the street when he heard shouting. He spotted Kel running towards the corner diagonal from him, followed closely by Aubrey, with Basil bringing up the rear, struggling to keep up with them. Kel, full of energy as always, bounced from one foot to the next through the deep snow, not letting it slow him down. It actually looked like Aubrey was chasing him, and Sunny could guess why when he saw chunks of snow clinging to her coat. The two of them were too busy with each other to notice him, but thankfully Basil spotted him.

“Hi Sunny!” Basil shouted, waving his arm high above his head. Basil was never fond of the fights Kel and Aubrey had, even though they were never too serious. Seeing Sunny must have been a relief for him.

Kel and Aubrey stopped what they were doing to greet Sunny themselves. Kel looked at all four directions in the intersection before he sprinted over to Sunny. Aubrey and Basil were quick to follow suit. 

“Yo Sunny! Are you ready to have the best snowball fight ever?” Kel shouted. He took a handful of snow and started making a snowball before Aubrey smacked it out of his hand.

“We’re not going to have a snowball fight! We’re going to build a snowman! Right Sunny?”

Aubrey beamed at him. Thankfully, the cold had made his cheeks red long before now, so no one could tell as they reddened further.

Suddenly, Sunny got hit in the shoulder by something very cold. This wouldn’t have been a problem, since he was wearing a snow coat, but the snowball exploded on impact, and some of the flecks of snow fell onto his neck and down his shirt. The unexpected cold made him tense up, pulling his shoulders almost up to his ears. 

“KEL!” Aubrey yelled. Sunny stood frozen in place, still in shock over the cold, even though the snow that went down his shirt had already melted. 

"Ah, Sunny, a-are you okay?" Basil fretted over him, unsure of how to help his friend.

Aubrey was less concerned over Sunny and more concerned with getting revenge on Kel. The two resumed their chase, this time with Kel leading her towards the park. Kel turned around, running backwards as he shouted, “Last one to the park is a rotten egg!” 

Sunny watched the two sprint away, and he felt a warmth blossom in his chest that made him forget the cold he was feeling just moments before. Smiling back at Basil, he grabbed his hand and pulled him along, following the new footprints implanted in the snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try to update this once every day, but no promises.


	3. At the Park

By the time Sunny and Basil made it to the park, Kel and Aubrey were facing each other, both panting heavily and a lot more snow covered than before. Their faces were painted with serious expressions, and the snow lightly falling made it look like a short pause during an intense battle. Sunny wished he could take a picture of the scene. Basil peeked out from behind Sunny, unsure of what to make of the situation.

Kel was the first to notice the two of them standing there. “Finally! You two are so slow. Get ready for the snowball fight of the cent-AUGH!” 

Kel yelped as a snowball hit him directly in the face, knocking him down into the snow. Laughter erupted from Aubrey as he shook the snow off.

Kel turned and glared at Aubrey, sticking his tongue out at her. In some amazing stroke of luck, a snowflake landed directly on his tongue, distracting Kel completely from his anger. Excited, he turned to Sunny and Basil.

“Look, look! Ah caught a thnowflake on my tongue!” He made sure to keep his tongue out while he talked. He hopped up from the ground, wading through the snow towards the two. “Thee?”

“Uh, Kel, I think it already melted,” Basil said, smiling nervously.

“Aww,” Kel put his tongue back in his mouth. “Why does snow always melt when people touch it?” he complained.

Basil began to answer Kel’s question, not knowing how else to respond. Sunny wasn’t very interested in Basil’s explanation, so he looked around for Aubrey. She was kneeling in the same place she was before, packing a large snowball. Curious, he walked over to her to see what she was planning to do with it.

Aubrey looked up to find Sunny staring at her. “Oh, hey Sunny! Want to help me roll up the base of my snowman?”

So that’s what she was doing. Thinking back, she had mentioned wanting to build a snowman earlier. Somewhat relieved that both Kel and Aubrey were over their little spat, Sunny nodded. Aubrey grinned, and the two of them got to work pushing the snowball and packing in loose snow to make a sturdy base.

* * *

“—and that’s why snow melts when you touch it.” Basil concluded. 

“But that’s dumb! I want to be able to show people when I catch snow on my tongue,” Kel whined. 

“W-well, you can’t really change science,” Basil said nervously. Then, something caught his eye. “Hey, look! I can see snowflakes in your hair!”

Kel’s eyes lit up “Really?” He looked to Basil’s side where Sunny had been standing, but no one was there. “Wait, where’s Sunny? I want to show him!”

Basil’s eyes widened, having not noticed Sunny’s disappearance. For a moment, panic set in, and he whipped his head around, desperately searching for him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement. When his eyes shot towards it, there he was, helping Aubrey roll a giant snowball. It was almost up to their shoulders. Basil sighed in relief, his heart slowing down. He was about to go over to them when Kel grabbed his arm.

“Come on, Basil! We can’t let them build a bigger snowman than us!”

Basil was about to argue, but he knew it wouldn’t do anything to sway Kel’s decision. Kel grabbed an armful of snow and started packing it, and once he had a snowball that he could barely carry anymore, the two began quickly pushing it through the snow. 

Basil could barely keep up with Kel at first, but as the snowball grew, he slowed down. The bigger it became, the harder it was to push. Soon, the two boys couldn’t push it any further, and they sat against their towering creation, catching their breath.

Kel was the first to recover. He looked over towards Sunny and Aubrey to see their progress.

He saw their first snowball, which was about the same size as his and Basil’s, but Sunny and Aubrey weren’t there with it. At first Kel was confused, but then he saw them rolling another snowball. It was pretty big already, too.

“Basil, get up! They’re way ahead of us!” Kel pulled on Basil’s arm, but he was still tired from rolling the first snowball.

“Does this really have to be a competition?” Basil asked in between breaths. 

Kel raised an eyebrow. “What’s the point of it if it’s not?”

“W-well, it’s fun rolling up the snowballs. You’re pretty good at that, right?” Kel nodded.

“And once you have all the snowballs put together, you can decorate it. M-maybe we should focus on making ours look better instead of making it faster?” Basil asked in a desperate bid to appeal to Kel’s competitive nature, while also saving himself from collapsing from overexertion.

“Hmm…” Kel scratched his chin. “You make a good point. I know! You go gather some things to decorate our snowman with, while I roll up the snowballs. Sound good?”

Basil smiled weakly and gave Kel a thumbs up. Reinvigorated, Kel ran off to a patch of untouched snow and began forming another snowball.

Basil let his head fall back against their giant snowball, sighing deeply. Just a little rest before going to gather decorations won’t hurt.


	4. Reminiscing

Mari swung her arm back and forth as she walked towards the park. Just one arm. The one that held Hero’s hand. Today, she was in a very good mood. The snow covering the ground, plus the fact that it was a Saturday, gave her the perfect excuse to go outside and play with her friends instead of staying inside and studying or practicing the piano.

It also meant she could spend more time with her boyfriend.

_Boyfriend._ It felt nice to think that. They had been dating for a few months already, but her heart still sped up whenever she saw him. They were the perfect pair. Both hard working honor students and role model older siblings, they understood each other more than anyone else did. It only made sense that they would start dating, even though it took a while for either of them to confess their feelings.

The two were awkward kids when they met. Mari didn’t have a lot of friends, or rather, no friends at all. She was more interested in her studies than friends. 

Hero had a small circle of friends that stayed together from elementary school to middle school. He and Mari went to the same school, but never had any classes together. That was until, through some miracle, the two were put together in every single class when they reached middle school. It was only a matter of time before they befriended each other.

When they first became friends, they were surprised to find that they lived right next to each other. Sure, they had seen each other in passing, but it never really registered until Hero offered to walk Mari home one day, and they ended up just one house away from his home. They had a good laugh over that one.

When they started hanging out with each other outside of school, they were surprised to find that their younger siblings had befriended each other as well. _What a fantastic coincidence,_ Mari said. The others agreed.

Soon, their little troop expanded to fit two more: Aubrey and Basil. They were both in Sunny’s grade as well, so Hero was still the only person her age that Mari could call a friend.

And she was happy like that. Happy to have someone as kind and caring as Hero as a friend. Happy to watch him smile. Although, that last one tended to make her heart skip a beat. For some unknown reason.

She was moderately aware of her growing crush, but was even more determined to suppress it. Her selfish emotions would only split apart the group of friends she had grown to cherish. At least, that’s what she told herself.

So, she resorted to doing some subtle flirting, hoping to both pass it off as friendly banter while also letting her true emotions out, if only a little.

And, to her surprise, Hero would flirt back. Not when they were around the rest of the gang, but he was an absolute charmer when they were alone. Multiple times, Mari considered confessing her feelings, but she always held back due to the fears nagging at the back of her mind. 

This continued all the way into high school. Sometimes, Mari felt like they were teetering on the edge of something. They would lean on each other’s shoulder, or hold hands while walking, or stare at the other while they weren’t looking for a little too long. 

It all came to a head on what would otherwise be a completely normal day.

“Hey Mari, want to go to Gino’s after this? Just the two of us?”

Mari turned and looked at Hero. They were on their own today; the kids were most likely off playing at the park while they had stayed after school to study together.

Mari gave him her best flirty eyes. “Oh my, are you asking me on a date, Hero?”

He looked at her in the eyes, a serious expression on his face. “Is that what you want?”

Mari didn’t know what to say. She opened and closed her mouth in shock a few times before Hero clarified.

“Because I think I’d like that.”

And the rest was history.

Suddenly Mari was distracted from her thoughts by Hero nudging her shoulder. They had arrived at the park, and were met with quite the scene.

Sunny was busy putting small rocks into the face of a snowman to make its mouth. Either he was too focused on what he was doing, or he was ignoring the yells and shouts of Kel and Aubrey, who were viciously attacking each other with snowballs. Basil was hiding behind two large snowballs, peeking over them nervously to watch the fight.

“Oh dear,” sighed Mari.

“Do you want to deal with it, or should I?” Hero asked.

“I think it’s your turn.”

“Alrighty then.” Hero approached the two. When he got close enough, he started to say something, but almost immediately got pelted with a snowball from Kel. That got both him and Aubrey laughing, and earned a chuckle from Mari, though she wouldn’t admit it.

Basil, sensing a lull in the battle, scampered over to Sunny. Sunny just finished the face of his and Aubrey’s snowman. Seeing Basil appear beside him, he pointed at it, looking for feedback.

Mari smiled at how ridiculous the whole situation was. Two children were absolutely pummeling her boyfriend in a snowball fight, and barely six feet away were two more children, admiring a snowman in spite of the chaos that was so nearby. 

Mari walked over to Sunny and Basil. “So, what happened while Hero and I were away?” she asked.

Basil was quick to respond. “Well, it’s a long story, but basically Aubrey and Sunny built this snowman, and Kel and I… well, we were building a snowman too…” he gestured at the two large snowballs on the ground. “...but Kel kind of made the middle part too big, and we couldn’t lift it up high enough to put on top of the bottom part. Then, Kel heard Aubrey laugh at something, and he thought she was laughing at us. And then…” He looked over at Kel and Aubrey. They weren’t giving Hero a chance to breathe, let alone make snowballs to fight back. “...you know the rest.”

“I see,” said Mari. “Well, at least there’s one complete snowman. You did a nice job on the face, Sunny.”

Sunny smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

“H-hey Sunny, was Aubrey actually laughing at us?” Basil questioned.

Sunny nodded without hesitation.

“Oh. I guess I owe Kel a slice of pizza, then.”


	5. Mistakes

“HA! I thought you would be stronger, Hero! Or should I say… ZERO!” Kel launched a snowball at his brother, who managed to dodge it at the last second.

“That sucked, Kel. You need to up your game,” Aubrey hurled her own snowball, this time hitting Hero square in the chest.

“Ugh… can we take a break guys… I’m getting… tired…” Hero panted, hands on his knees.

“Not a chance, old man!” Kel shouted, throwing another snowball. This one was aimed at Hero’s head, but it just barely skimmed his hair. Instead, it sailed further through the air, and hit Aubrey and Sunny’s snowman in its head.

It all happened in an instant. Expressions of shock grew on everyone’s faces as the snowman’s head fell from its perch. And just as quickly as it started, it ended with a heavy _**plop**_ as the head hit the ground between Sunny and Basil.

Silence hung in the air. No one moved, even the air was still. _It stopped snowing,_ Sunny noted.

“WHAT THE HECK KEL?!” Aubrey shouted.

“Hey, it was an accident! I meant to hit Hero but he ducked, so it’s his fault!” Kel retorted.

“Guys, calm down… It’s a snowman, we can fix it,” Hero reasoned, still covered in snow and not wanting to get caught up in another fight.

Sunny looked down at the head. It landed face down, so he kneeled and flipped it over, and was greeted by the horribly disfigured guise of the once pristine face he had meticulously crafted.

...okay, maybe he was being overdramatic, but it still hurt to see his snowman in such a sorry state. 

“Hero’s right, you two. If you make a mistake, the most important thing to do is to try and fix it.” Mari kneeled next to Sunny and picked the few remaining rocks out of its face and gathered those that had fallen out. Once she finished, she handed them to Sunny.

She began packing snow into the crevices in the ball, smoothing it out as she did. “It may not be the same as it was before, but if you do things right, you can make it even better.”

“Or worse,” Aubrey pouted.

Mari laughed. “Now now, Aubrey, there’s no need to be so negative. See?” She held up the snowball. “Doesn’t that look nice?”

Aubrey inspected the rebuilt snowball. After some consideration, she spoke. “It needs to be bigger.”

“You can make it whatever size you want,” Mari said, handing it over to Aubrey. “And Kel?”

Kel peeked out from behind Hero, which was where he hid to avoid Aubrey’s wrath. “Yeah?”

“I know it was a mistake, but you still need to apologize.”

“Oh. Right.” Slightly embarrassed, Kel turned towards Aubrey. “I’m sorry.”

Aubrey looked at him for a moment. “Apology accepted,” she said curtly, going back to packing more snow on the snowball. 

“See?” Mari smiled. “Maybe if you two were as quick to apologize as you were to fight, you wouldn’t fight so much in the first place.”

Kel gave her a perplexed look, and Aubrey scoffed. Well, at least they made up for now.

“Are you almost done with the head, Aubrey?” Hero asked.

“Yeah, all it needs now is a face.” Aubrey stood up on her toes to place the snowball back on top of the snowman. 

Sunny sprung into action, holding his rocks in one arm and using his other hand to press them firmly into the snowball.

Kel perked up. “Basil, did you ever get more things to decorate with?”

“Oh, right!” Basil exclaimed. “N-no, I forgot… Sorry.”

“Well, let’s go get some now! That would definitely make it look better than before.”

“Good idea, Kel,” Hero said, having just finished brushing off the majority of the snow that had stuck to him. “You can probably find some pinecones and other stuff by the trees.”

With renewed energy, Kel grabbed Basil’s arm for the third time that day, dragging him off to search for decorations. Hero chuckled as he watched Kel jumping through the now knee-high snow while Basil barely managed to stay upright.

Meanwhile, Sunny was putting the final rocks into the snowman’s head. After making sure the final rock was secure, he stepped back. It wasn’t the same as it was, but it was similar enough, he supposed.

“That looks amazing, Sunny!” Aubrey exclaimed. Sunny’s eyes widened when she jumped at him for a hug. He awkwardly returned the it, gently placing his hands on her back. Then, he saw his sister’s smug expression staring at him from behind Aubrey. _She knows,_ he thought.

He gave her a death glare, which she responded to with a shrug. He really couldn’t go one day without her judging him. At least Aubrey was happy. That was all he could ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not me referencing traumatic in-game events in my wholesome fanfic that I wrote to cope with said events in the first place


	6. Collecting

Basil hummed to himself as he searched the wooded area surrounding the park for decorations. There wasn’t as much snow under the trees, which he was grateful for. It was a lot easier to get around without sinking into knee-deep snow every step of the way. He already had a handful of pinecones, plus a bundle of evergreen twigs that he thought would look nice. 

He looked around for Kel, but with how easily distracted the other boy was, Basil was half expecting to find him doing something completely different to what they had set out to do. Surprisingly, Kel was actually doing what he was supposed to, but it didn’t look like that to Basil. 

“Uhh, Kel, what are you doing?”

Basil’s words interrupted Kel, who was jumping up to try and reach a branch that was a little too high up for him. “I’m trying to get this pinecone, but it’s stuck in those branches, so I can’t reach it,” he said, taking a break from what he was doing. He already had a small pile of things to decorate with at his feet, but it seemed Kel was dead set on getting that one specific pinecone.

“Oh, okay. Well, I’m going to go back, so…”

“WAIT!” Kel shouted. Basil stopped in his tracks. “I just got the greatest idea, watch!” 

He sauntered over to the trunk of the tree, put his hands around it, and shook it as hard as he could.

Basil realized what he was doing at the last second, and was about to shout at him to stop, but he was too late. The pinecone did fall, but so did all the snow that was covering the branches. Basil was further away from the center of the tree, so he didn’t get hit as hard. Kel, however, was right in the thick of it, and got knocked down by the sheer amount of snow that fell on top of him.

The two were silent for a moment. Basil wasn’t even sure if Kel was conscious. He was lying down, head above the snow but facing away from him. Then, Kel shook his head, clumps of snow flying off in every direction.

“That didn’t go how I thought it would,” Kel said disappointedly.

He shifted to a sitting position, looking around for something. “Aw man, where did that pinecone go?” There was no sign of the pinecone he was trying to reach earlier. “The rest of my stuff, too!” He started frantically digging through the snow with his hands in an effort to find the pile he left at his feet.

After about a full minute of digging, Kel sat back and sighed. There was no sign of his collection under the huge pile of snow.

Basil, who had been watching from the side, approached Kel. “H-hey, it’s okay if you lost your decorations. Look!” He showed him his own collection of stuff. “This is probably enough, right?”

Kel’s eyes lit up. “That’s awesome! Nice job Basil, you’re the best!” He clapped Basil on the back, which made him stumble forward and drop some of the things he was carrying. “Oops, hehe. Sorry.”

Kel picked up the things Basil dropped. “Come on, let’s go! The others are waiting!”

Kel sped off. Now alone, Basil chuckled to himself, grateful that Kel’s hands were too full to drag him along. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep up, but he also knew he shouldn’t keep his friends waiting. After taking a deep breath to get ready, he took off running after Kel, letting his footprints guide him. 

The footprints kept him going in a relatively straight line, but the forest wasn't clearing up. It actually looked like it was getting more dense. Shouldn't they be at the playground already?

...did Kel run off in the wrong direction?

Well, even if he had, it didn’t matter. No friend left behind, as Kel would say. It would be easy enough to find him and bring him back to the park, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for a while. Hopefully I can get back in the groove of updating every day. It's a challenge, but it's a lot of fun!


	7. Discovery

Kel emerged from the forest, running into an open clearing.

“Guys, look what me and Basil got!” Kel shouted.

Usually whenever he yelled like that, Aubrey would at least tell him to be quiet, but instead he was met with complete silence.

“Huh? Where is everyone?” Kel looked around, realizing quickly that he was not in the park at all. He had come across a clearing in the woods that he never knew existed.

The place he found himself in looked like the kind of winter wonderland that you could only see in movies. It was a decently sized clearing, with perfectly smooth, untouched snow as far as the eye could see. The trees dotting the area were covered in snow, branches drooping under the weight. In the middle of the clearing, the snow dipped down slightly, except for a small part in the middle that had a stone statue of some kind, as well as a rectangular portion sticking into the lower part that was the same height as the surrounding area.

“Wooooooah…” Kel turned around, walking backwards into the area to take it in fully.

Basil emerged from the forest, and did a double take. It was a truly beautiful place, and for a moment, he forgot what he was there to do. Noticing Kel spinning slowly ahead of him like some sort of vertical rotisserie chicken snapped him out of it, though. 

“Kel! There you are!”

Kel turned towards the sound. “Basil! Look at how cool this place is! We should make this our secret hideout!”

“Uhh, shouldn’t we go back to the playground? This place is pretty, but the others will get worried if we’re gone for too long.” In reality, Basil himself was getting worried. What if they couldn’t find their way back? Sure, Kel was with him, but he isn’t the best with directions...

“You’re right! We need to show them this place! Come on!”

Basil just knew Kel was about to run off again. “WAIT!”

The shout stopped Kel in his tracks. Thankfully, he had only managed to run a few feet before being stopped.

“W-we need to stick together. What if we get lost again?”

Basil’s worried look gave Kel pause. He remembered how often he sped away from not only Basil, but their whole group whenever he got excited. He never thought of it as a bad thing, but if he were in a situation where doing that meant abandoning his friend... 

“Yeah, you’re right. I won’t leave you behind this time. I promise.”

Basil nodded, relieved. Grinning, Kel started walking at a moderate speed. Going so slow wasn’t something he liked to do, but he could do it if it was for a friend.

They retraced their tracks back into the forest, to where Kel shook the tree and got covered in snow. Unfortunately, the fallen snow had covered up the footprints that showed how he got to the tree, but with some searching, they found the path they took into the forest, and finally found their way back to the playground.

“Hey, we made it!” Kel, who was tired of walking, sprinted towards the rest of their friends.

“Hey guys! You’re just in time.” Mari was standing in front of a snowman, but this one wasn’t Sunny and Aubrey’s. Theirs was off to the side, and this one was too big for that.

Suddenly, Kel realized what had happened. “Wait… did you use our snowballs to make another snowman?” he exclaimed. “HOW?! They’re way too heavy to lift!”

Mari giggled. “Maybe for you and Basil, but it was no match for the four of us working together!” She lifted her arm and made a flexing motion.

Basil caught up to Kel and held out the things in his arms towards Mari. “We found some things to decorate with,” he said.

Mari looked at Basil and Kel’s hands. “Oh, perfect! Now we can finish both of them!” She looked around at the other side of the snowman, where Sunny was putting rocks into the face. It was too high for him to reach on his own, so Hero had lifted him up onto his back so he could reach, and Aubrey was handing him rocks to put in.

“Sunny, we have more than just rocks now!” Mari ushered Kel and Basil over to him. Seeing the new materials he could work with, Sunny quickly finished the face and got to work decorating the head. He put two pinecones on top of the head, and arranged some of the evergreen sprigs in a circle, with a few sticking up to make the pointy tips characteristic of a crown.

“Aw, cute! The pinecones look like cat ears!” Mari said. Sunny gave her a thumbs up, signifying that that was exactly what he was going for. 

He looked over at the first snowman. Compared to this one, it looked a bit sad and lonely. Sunny hopped off of Hero’s back and trudged over to it.

The rest of the gang followed. No one had said anything, but they all knew Sunny was the most creative out of all of them, so they let him do what he wanted when it came to things like this. 

After a few moments of assessing the snowman, Sunny motioned for Basil and Kel to come closer. The two approached him, and Sunny began to take things from their hands, placing them strategically on the snowman. When he was finished, he had used all of the pinecones and evergreen sprigs they had brought. _Perfect,_ Sunny thought.

This snowman had a ton of pinecones covering the top of its head and trailing down its back. There were evergreen sprigs dispersed throughout the pinecones, and two smaller ones were stuck onto its face to make angry eyebrows.

“...a porcupine?” Hero asked.

Sunny smiled and nodded.

The group admired the snowman without speaking for a moment, before Kel, as per usual, broke the silence.

“WAIT!” he shouted.

The sudden, loud noise caused everyone to jump. Aubrey, who was standing right beside him, punched him in the shoulder.

“Jeez Kel, you don’t have to be so loud when we’re standing right next to you!” Aubrey pouted as Kel looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Haha, sorry. I just remembered that when Basil and I were out looking for decorations, we found this really cool hidden area and we wanted to show it to you guys!” 

“I don’t know Kel, it’s getting pretty late,” Hero replied, looking at the sun. It was starting to get low in the sky.

“Oh, come on, Hero! Pretty please?” Kel pleaded. 

Aubrey was excited at the prospect of a hidden place deep in the forest. “I wanna go! Can we?” 

“It’s not too far,” Basil reasoned. “We’ll have more than enough time to explore for a bit, then go home.”

Even Sunny wanted to go. He didn’t say anything, but Hero could tell by the way he held onto the corner of Basil’s sleeve when he was talking. When Basil finished, Sunny looked up to Hero expectantly.

Hero and Mari glanced at each other.

“Well, it won’t hurt to just check it out for a little bit, right?” Mari said. The four childrens’ faces lit up.

Hero sighed. “Alright, but when I say it’s time to go back, no complaining.”

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Kel held his hand up for high fives. First was Basil, who recoiled in pain after Kel slammed their hands together. Next was Aubrey, who hit back equally hard, making a satisfying _**slap!**_ Last was Sunny, who held up his hand but made no effort to hit Kel’s, instead letting him do all the work. 

Mari and Hero laughed. “Alright Kel, lead the way,” Hero said. “Actually, wait. Basil, you lead the way.”

“What? Why?” Kel was the one who asked, but Basil was thinking the same.

“Because I don’t trust you not to run too far ahead and get lost. If Basil’s leading, at least he’ll set a decent pace.”

“You’re no fun,” Kel said, but he didn’t argue. He couldn’t, because that same situation had happened before. Multiple times. 

“A-alright, if you say so. It’s this way.” Basil started walking towards the woods, checking back to make sure they were following him. Once he was sure, he led them into the forest, following his and Kel’s old footprints, just as they had done earlier.


	8. Secret Hideout

The group made their way through the woods, following Basil towards the secret clearing he and Kel had found. They walked single file, with Basil leading. Hero was right behind him, and he was followed closely by Kel and Aubrey. Kel was gushing about how beautiful the clearing was, and Aubrey listened intently. Mari and Sunny were in the back, silently following the rest. 

Mari, being the protective older sister she was, held onto Sunny’s hand to make sure he was still following. If he got lost, she would only have herself to blame, so she just made sure not to lose him in the first place. 

As they walked on, light began to filter through the snow-covered branches as the trees grew fewer and farther between. Soon, the group emerged into the clearing.

The four who hadn’t seen the clearing were awestruck. The snow glinted in the sun, but it wasn’t as bright as it was in the midday sun. The sky had just started turning orange, and the way the sun reflected on the snow gave it more of a ‘smooth blanket with glitter’ look, instead of the pure, concentrated white light it was before. It’s hard to say whether one was prettier than the other, as both have their own appeal, but the former was definitely easier on the eyes.

“Wow,” Mari breathed. She thought it would be much smaller than it was, but it was quite large, almost the same size as the park. 

“You could say that again,” Hero said, leaving Aubrey, Kel, and Basil to join her.

“Wow,” Mari repeated jokingly. She laughed, but Hero only looked at her disappointedly. She didn’t care what he thought, though. Her bad jokes were for her own amusement.

Sunny didn't agree, as he interrupted Mari’s laughter by elbowing her in the side. 

“Ow,” Mari whined. “That one wasn’t even that bad.”

“Debatable,” Hero said. Sunny stuck out his tongue and gave her a thumbs down.

Mari chuckled at the expression. “Well, bad jokes aside, this place is pretty nice.”

“Yeah, I wonder what it looks like when it’s not covered in snow.” Hero looked across the landscape to where Kel, Aubrey, and Basil were playing. They were jumping through the snow, making holes in the otherwise smooth surface. At least, Kel and Aubrey were. Basil was shuffling through the snow behind them, making paths through the holes they made.

The two of them kept jumping in and out of the snow, until one hop from Kel landed him onto a hard surface instead of the soft grass and dirt he was used to.

“Hey, I hit something hard!” Kel looked down at his feet, but there was too much snow to see the ground. “Help me dig up this snow.”

Kel and Aubrey began shoveling up snow, soon joined by Basil. Hero, Mari, and Sunny arrived when they hit the bottom.

Brushing away the last of the snow revealed wooden planks, nailed together to make some sort of platform. The group stared at their discovery, unsure of what to make of it. 

“Well… mystery solved, I guess,” Kel mumbled, absentmindedly kicking a chunk of snow. He wasn’t sure what he thought it would be. Buried treasure? A trapdoor? Oh well. Not everything’s an adventure.

No longer interested in the wood, Kel looked around for another point of interest. It didn’t take long for him to lock onto the statue standing tall in the middle of the clearing. 

A grin spread across his face. “Hey Aubrey, bet I can beat you to that statue,” Kel taunted.

Aubrey’s smile grew to match his. “You’re on.” Both of them got into their starting positions next to each other on the edge of the raised platform.

While Sunny was distracted by clearing more of the area around the wood they discovered, and Basil was distracted by Sunny’s hypnotically efficient work, Hero and Mari’s attention was caught by the two rival racers. Usually, whenever Kel raced with any of them, he would win. But every so often, Aubrey would come in clutch and snatch a victory of her own. It's no fun when one person wins all the time, so seeing Aubrey win every once in a while made things a lot more interesting.

Aubrey started the countdown. “Three… Two… One...”

The two shouted **“GO!”** in unison. Kel launched himself off of the wooden platform, aiming to land on the ground below them. Aubrey followed suit.

However, when they landed, something unexpected happened. The ground underneath the snow was hard like the wood, but it was much more brittle, as made obvious by the loud _CRACK_ that sounded when the two hit the ground

The sound almost made Kel stop, but stopping would mean Aubrey would get ahead, and he couldn’t have that. He heard Hero voice a warning, but he didn't listen. He crouched down and pushed off the ground for another jump, but suddenly the ground wasn’t there anymore. It had given way, and that was when he realized it.

The wooden platform? That was a dock. He was falling into a frozen lake.


	9. Emergency

Hero watched it all unfold in front of him. Kel and Aubrey jumped off the dock, and when they landed, a loud _**CRACK**_ echoed through the clearing. The sound made Hero’s heart drop out of his chest, and he called out to them, telling them not to make any sudden moves. 

Aubrey listened, stumbling forward slightly from the momentum, putting her arms out to stabilize herself and stop moving. But Kel didn’t, and the ice broke beneath his feet when he tried to keep running.

Hero’s life flashed before his eyes when he saw Kel disappear into the water. He himself wasn’t in any danger, but seeing his little brother falling into a frozen lake made his heart stop. 

He leapt into action in an instant, jumping up from the place on the dock where he and Mari were sitting. The hole that Kel had disappeared into wasn’t far away, so with one leap, he was able to land next to it.

This was not a good idea.

When Hero put his full weight on the already weakened ice, it gave out, widening the hole and plunging him into the deep, freezing water. It wasn’t what he had in mind, but he could make it work.

He almost immediately changed his mind when he felt how cold the water was. The freezing water made the air above seem warm. It felt like he was being struck everywhere with tiny pinpricks, making him shiver violently. The shock from the cold made him gasp, taking in a mouthful of water. He coughed and tried to resurface, but he remembered why he jumped in in the first place, and held what little air he had left. He opened his eyes to find Kel.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to do any searching. Kel was still right under the hole he made, struggling to get above the water.

Hero used all his strength to grab his brother around the waist and swim upwards, hoping that he was fast enough to save him.

* * *

Sunny had cleared almost a quarter of the dock of snow when he heard the ice crack. The sound distracted him from what he was doing, and he looked over just in time to see Kel fall into the water.

Everyone around him reacted quite strongly. Mari and Basil gasped, and Hero jumped onto the ice next to where Kel had fallen in, and fell in himself. 

Sunny, however, was rooted to the spot, eyes wide and unmoving. He could barely even process what had just happened. How could things go so bad so quickly? 

He was snapped back into the present when he heard another crack. It wasn’t nearly as loud as the first one, but still not a good sign. It came from where Aubrey was standing, still as a statue, just a few feet away from the hole that Kel and Hero made.

“Aubrey, here!” Mari shouted. She was kneeling on the dock, holding her hand out towards Aubrey. She had a very serious face on, one that Sunny only saw when she was deep in concentration over her studies.

Aubrey turned her head slowly, not wanting to move her feet. When Sunny saw her face, it felt like he had been punched in the gut. Her eyes were filled with panic and tears that threatened to spill out at any moment. Seeing Kel fall into the water, and knowing she was standing on the same ice he was moments before, made her afraid to make any movements whatsoever. 

Mari knew that Aubrey wouldn’t move herself, so she slowly, carefully, placed her left foot off the dock and onto the snow-covered ice, pushing it down until she felt the solid surface beneath it. Sunny realized what she was doing, and went over to grab her right arm to make sure she didn’t fall in herself.

Mari gave Sunny a quick smile before returning to what she was doing. “Come on, Aubrey. Slowly…” Mari put her other foot on the ice, and stepped out a little further, just far enough so that Aubrey could reach her hand. 

Sunny felt Basil grab his arm. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. So much had happened in such a short amount of time; it had overwhelmed him. _He's shaking,_ Sunny observed. 

Sunny let go of Mari’s arm with one hand, opting to hold Basil’s hand in an effort to calm him from his panicked state. Basil squeezed his hand hard, and took in a deep breath. Then, he grabbed Mari’s arm with his free hand. They were the physically weakest in the group, but together, they would be strong enough to help their friends.

Meanwhile, Aubrey was gathering the courage to turn around. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Then another. And another, but her heart was still pounding at record speeds. Yet she also knew that the longer she stood there, the more likely the ice was to break beneath her feet.

 _Oh, screw it._ She whirled around and grabbed onto Mari’s arm in one swift motion. She heard multiple small cracks as Mari forcefully pulled her close, putting her arm around Aubrey. She even felt the ice breaking beneath her, but only for a moment. She felt herself being lifted up by Mari, who herself was pulled up by Sunny and Basil. They fell backwards onto the dock and into safety.

Everyone breathed a heavy sigh. That was one disaster averted, but they still had one more to fix. 

As if on cue, Hero and Kel burst out of the water, both coughing and shaking. Mari shot up, rushing to the part of the dock that was closest to them. She was about to do what she did with Aubrey, inching closer to them on the ice, but Hero stopped her.

“Wait!” said Hero. “T-the ice is-sn’t stable, don’t s-stand on it.”

His voice shook along with his body. Kel was busy coughing his lungs up, but he was shaking as well. 

"Can you crawl onto the ice?" Mari asked.

Hero floated towards the edge of the ice, using one hand to try to lift himself and his brother out of the water, but the ice just broke off in his hand. "Nope," he shuddered. 

Mari looked on with a concerned expression, wanting to help but knowing she would just end up falling in if she tried. Suddenly, she got an idea. “You three, run and find someone and make them call 911! Go get Kel and Hero’s parents, they can help us.”

Aubrey, Sunny, and Basil nodded in unison. They ran together, as fast as their legs could carry them, through the woods and into the park. 

“You two, go to Kel and Hero’s house,” Aubrey ordered. “I’ll go to Hobbeez, they have a phone and it’s closer.” Sunny and Basil didn’t even wait to hear her short explanation, sprinting off across the street towards the house.

Now Sunny _really_ wished he were taller. Or that he had bothered to make a proper path earlier, because hopping through the snow was hardly the kind of efficient travel one needs to use when an emergency is happening. Nevertheless, he and Basil kept going.

Soon, they arrived at Kel and Hero’s house. The door was unlocked, as it always was whenever Kel and Hero were out playing with Sunny and the rest of the gang, so they let themselves in.

The opening of the door practically summoned the brothers’ mom. “Oh, hello boys! Should I get you two some hot chocolate?” 

She looked over at them, and worry spread across her features when she noticed their fear-filled faces. “What happened? Is something wrong? Where’s everyone else?”

Basil spoke. “I-it’s Kel and H-Hero… they… uh…” Basil cut himself off as tears started falling from his eyes. “Th-they… um…” A knot had formed in his throat. Basil looked at Sunny for help, who glanced at him, then looked back at the woman in front of them. Then, Sunny spoke.

“They fell into a lake.”


	10. By the Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this chapter, it got longer than I expected and I had schoolwork to do. But it's finally finished! This definitely isn't my best work, especially with the lack of editing due to the strict schedule I kept myself on, but I'm really glad I did it. And as always, I hope you enjoyed it, too!

“THEY WHAT?” Kel and Hero’s mom shrieked. Sunny nearly fell backwards from the sheer volume of her voice. “OH MY GOODNESS! WHERE? WHAT HAPPENED? ARE THEY SAFE?” 

Her husband appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, having heard his wife’s screams. “What’s going on, kids?” 

They didn’t have time to stand around and explain, so Sunny motioned for them to follow him. He went right back out into the cold, dragging a crying Basil along with him. Kel and Hero’s parents followed closely behind them, even though neither were dressed for the snow. As the group ran, their mom quickly explained to their dad what the two had told her.

The sun was starting to dip below the horizon. It was cold before, but it felt much colder now. It didn’t help that the wind was picking up either, blowing clouds of loose snow across the ground that just gave Sunny an unsettling feeling of dread. 

Sunny kept running, even though the snow threatened to trip him. He kept running, even though his feet were numbing in the cold. He kept running, even though his legs were sore from a full day of physical activity. He kept running, because that’s what his friends needed him to do right now. 

Basil kept running, too. Through pants and sobs, he pressed on. Once or twice, he stumbled, but Kel and Hero's parents steadied him and kept him going. They led them to the park, through the woods, and finally arrived at the clearing.

Thankfully, help had already arrived in the form of the clerk from Hobbeez, as well as a paramedic. Sunny recognized the paramedic as someone who was often at Hobbeez himself, talking with the clerk. The clerk must have called him when Aubrey came looking for help. 

Kel was already out of the water, and Sunny noticed that Mari had draped her coat over his shoulders. She and Aubrey were hugging him to keep him warm while the clerk and the paramedic pulled Hero out of the water and onto the crowded dock.

Kel and Hero’s parents rushed forward. “Are they going to be okay?” their father asked. 

“They’ll be fine. Take them home and change them into warm, dry clothes, and get them a hot drink.” The paramedic explained. “Thankfully, they don’t need to go to the hospital. I took Kel’s temperature, and his body temperature is lower than it should be, but not so low that it’s dangerous.”

While the paramedic was talking, Basil and Sunny joined the rest of their friends. Kel, who was practically vibrating, was being comforted by Aubrey. Mari was tightly hugging Hero, even though he was sopping wet. She didn’t seem to care.

The brothers’ mom grabbed Kel by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug which Kel could barely return on account of him shivering so hard.

“Come on,” the brothers’ dad said. “We should get them home as soon as possible. Hero, can you walk?” 

“I think so, yeah,” Hero said. 

His dad nodded. He walked over to Kel and scooped him up out of his wife’s grasp. 

“Alright. Let’s go home.”

With that, the group hurried out of the clearing. When they got to the park entrance, the Hobbeez clerk and the paramedic split off from the group. The former went back to his store and the latter back to his home. 

Sunny and the rest of the gang followed the family of four. The emergency was over, but the adrenaline had yet to wear off. There wasn’t any talking on the way back. Usually there would be at least one conversation going on at any point in time with all of them present, but there was none of that now. 

The silence gave Sunny some time to think. He began to wonder what his parents would think of him and Mari being out so late. The sky was a dark blue, which faded into a warmer orange around where the sun was peeking over the horizon. Well, it wasn’t that late since the sun sets earlier in winter, but their parents still preferred for them to be home before it got dark. They would probably get a pass this time, though. Hopefully.

Sunny looked at his friends. Mari was the closest to the family in front of them, walking beside Hero. Sunny knew they were dating, although they didn’t really say it out loud. He didn’t know what to think about the whole situation. When he found out, he felt like he should be protective of his sister, but Hero was his friend too. After some deliberation, Sunny had ended up concluding that as long as Mari was happy, he was happy.

Aubrey was between him and Mari. He couldn’t see her face, but she knew she was still feeling anxious. From the things she told him whenever she needed to vent, Sunny knew she cared so much about all of her friends. Even Kel, who she fought with regularly. Perhaps she would calm down once she saw that they were safe.

Behind him was Basil. He was still holding Sunny’s hand. Basil did that whenever he needed someone to be there for him, or calm him down. With how hectic today had been, Sunny was more than happy to provide him some comfort. 

Soon, they arrived at Kel and Hero’s house. One by one, they stepped into the house. Kel was carried upstairs by his dad, and his mom ushered Hero up as well. His mom turned back to the four others, standing awkwardly at the door. She gave each of them a once-over, and her eyes stopped when they reached Mari.

“Mari, your clothes are wet, you must be freezing! Follow me, I’m sure I have something warm that will fit you.”

Mari perked up, distracted from her thoughts. “Oh, really?” She quickly took off her snow boots and followed her as she started up the stairs.

“The rest of you, make yourselves at home.” she turned to lead Mari up the stairs, but remembered something and turned back. “Oh, I know! You know where the cocoa powder is, right?” 

Sunny had no idea where the cocoa powder was, and by the way Aubrey and Basil glanced at him and each other, neither did they.

“It’s in the third bottom cabinet from the right,” Mari chimed in.

“That’s right! Why don’t you use that to make yourselves some hot chocolate? Once Kel and Hero change, I’ll light up the fireplace for you all.”

“Sounds good,” said Aubrey. When the two disappeared upstairs, the three stood in silence.

“Well, we might as well start making that hot chocolate,” Aubrey spoke softly. Sunny nodded and took off his own boots, then took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack. Aubrey and Basil did the same, and they all went into the kitchen wordlessly.

Usually Sunny didn’t mind silence, but this time, it was starting to make him uncomfortable. Aubrey was still shaken up over what had happened, and Basil wasn’t doing great, either. Kel’s absence was really cementing itself in his mind. Maybe if he started a conversation...

Sunny shook his head, rummaging through the third bottom cabinet for the cocoa powder. If either of them wanted to talk, they would. 

“There it is,” Basil said. 

_There it is,_ Sunny thought. _No point in worrying._

Basil reached over his head into the back of the cabinet, and pulled out a container of cocoa powder. 

“Hmm… it says here that a serving is a quarter cup of powder. Do either of you know where the measuring cups are?”

Sunny actually did know this, since he had absentmindedly watched Hero baking before and saw which drawer he took them from. He nodded, and walked over to said drawer to find them.

“I’ll get out the milk,” Aubrey said.

“Okay. We also need mugs, which are… in that cabinet, I think.” He pointed at one of the cabinets above the counter top.

Sunny had found the measuring cup he needed, and placed it on the counter. Basil placed the container next to it.

“Uh, how are we going to reach that?” Basil scratched his chin. All of them were about the same height, and that height was certainly not enough to reach those cabinets.

Aubrey hefted a gallon of milk onto the counter next to the measuring cup and the cocoa powder. “That’s easy, Basil.” She put both hands on the countertop and jumped up, landing in a kneeling position on top of it.

“Wait, seriously?” Basil’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that… unsafe?”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “You’re starting to sound like Hero. It’ll be fine.”

Basil didn’t look convinced, but he conceded anyway. “I guess… if you say so.” 

Aubrey opened the cabinet and started pulling mugs out. She would take one out, hand it to Basil, who would put it on the countertop, and Sunny started pouring milk into each of them, setting them aside to make room for new ones. 

Once they had six mugs out, they began the process of microwaving each one and stirring a quarter cup of powder into them once they had finished heating up. They had just finished the third cup when Mari joined them.

“Hey, you found everything! I realized once I got upstairs that I hadn’t told you all where the rest of the things you needed were. Looks like I didn’t have anything to worry about,” she giggled. She was wearing a turtleneck sweater that was a little too big for her , but looked comfortable nonetheless

Sunny took one of the mugs of hot chocolate and handed it to her. As she was the first of the three that needed to change their clothes to get downstairs, it only made sense that she should get some first.

Mari took the mug in both hands, holding it up to her face to let the steam warm her. “It looks good! And smells good, too. Thank you.” 

“Yeah but we’re still missing one thing,” Aubrey pointed out. “Marshmallows!”

“DID SOMEBODY SAY MARSHMALLOWS?”

That loud voice could only belong to one person. Kel skidded to a halt outside the kitchen doorway. He was wearing clean clothes, a big hoodie, and fuzzy socks. He also had a blanket over his shoulders that flowed in the air as he ran. “They’re in here!” He threw open one of the cabinets and fished out a bag of marshmallows.

“You got your energy back quick, huh?” Basil chuckled. 

“Of course! Mom told me that you guys were making hot chocolate, and I would never be late for hot chocolate.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Aubrey sighed, but she couldn’t hide her smile. 

Kel took the second cup, dumping a ton of marshmallows into it. “Perfect,” he whispered, staring at the mountain he had created.

The microwave beeped, signaling that the fourth mug was all warmed up. Aubrey took it out, and Sunny put the cocoa powder in and stirred. Basil placed the next mug in, setting the timer on the microwave and turning it on once again.

“I heard you guys were making hot chocolate,” Hero appeared, leaning against the doorway. He was wearing gray sweatpants and a hoodie, also with fuzzy socks.

Mari took the third mug and gave it to Hero. “Want some marshmallows with that?”

Hero smiled. “If you would be so kind.”

“As you wish.” Mari did a little curtsey before grabbing a handful of marshmallows. She sprinkled some into her mug before putting the rest into Hero’s mug. Hero leaned forward to give her a peck on the cheek.

“Eeeew, cooties!” Kel said. The two just laughed.

Kel and Hero’s mom poked her head into the kitchen. “The fire has started, so you can all warm up there while you drink your hot chocolate.”

“We’ll meet up with you guys once we finish making the hot chocolate,” Basil said. The three who had already received theirs headed off. 

Sunny, who just finished stirring the fourth mug of hot chocolate, offered it to Aubrey.

“Here,” he mumbled, holding it out towards her. 

“Thank you, Sunny!” She gave him the big, toothy grin that he so adored. He felt himself blushing something fierce.

She put a few marshmallows in her mug, and took a careful sip as she walked off to the living room.

Once they were alone, Basil spoke. “Well,” he sighed. “Today sure was eventful. I’m definitely going to get a good night of sleep tonight.”

Sunny nodded in agreement. 

“Maybe we can go back to that place when it isn’t covered in snow. I think it would be nice to have a picnic there, don’t you agree?”

Sunny Imagined what that would be like. Mari’s checkered blanket laid out on soft, green grass, and her classic picnic basket, filled with delicious food for a warm, spring afternoon. He had been to plenty of picnics before with his sister, but they could never have too many picnics. He felt himself smiling at the prospect of having a picnic in that peaceful, secluded place. 

The microwave beeped again, and Sunny took out the mug, plopped a quarter cup of cocoa powder into it, and started stirring. Basil put the last mug in and started the microwave again.

They stood there in silence again, but this time it was a comfortable silence. The background noise of the microwave humming and spoon clinking against the mug helped, too.  
Once Sunny had stirred the hot chocolate enough, he offered it to Basil. 

“Oh, thank you! But… you don’t like being alone right? I’ll stay with you until you have your hot chocolate.”

Sunny gave him a small smile. He knew Basil counted on him a lot for his listening skills, but Basil didn’t give himself enough credit when it came to how much he helped Sunny. Even with how little Sunny talked, Basil always went the extra mile to make it as easy as possible for them to communicate, and for that he was truly grateful. 

Basil put some marshmallows in his hot chocolate while the two waited for the final mug to finish warming up.

When the microwave beeped, Sunny repeated what he had done five times before, stirring in the cocoa powder until he was sure all of it had dissolved. He took some marshmallows, placed them into his mug, then followed Basil out into the living room.

The rest of the gang was engaged in lively conversation, having seemingly forgotten what had happened barely twenty minutes ago. Sunny and Basil joined them. The fire and the mug of hot chocolate warmed Sunny’s skin and hands, and the smiles and laughter of his friends warmed his heart . He smiled along with them. He always hated the cold, but he could deal with it if it meant he got to warm up by a fire sitting shoulder to shoulder with his favorite people in the world.


End file.
